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Filip Sokol: Dual citizenship presents a conflict of interest

Posted:
11/28/2012 01:00:00 AM MST

Fortunately an occasional opinion is voiced in these pages concerning local problems concerning conflicts of interest between public servants and their private lives. In looking back on recent history, perhaps more vigilance is needed when conflicts of interest occur on the national level with those United States government officials employed at very high levels of public trust and responsibility. Some of these individuals have dual nationality and may be more loyal to serving a foreign nation.

Is it really possible to simultaneously swear unencumbered loyalty to more than one nation? Can an ambassador properly represent the United States when he or she is also a citizen of the assigned country? Can a judge really be trusted to adjudicate a dispute if he/she is personally involved with one of the parties? Would a business hire somebody who also was working for their competition? How well can an athlete play while in the pay of both teams? Can we trust the chairman of the 9/11 Commission (a dual national) to have looked into every corner? Would it not be fair to say that the 'national interests' of the United States, which we the citizens define, fund and defend, must be our first priority?

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Now we are suffering with our current wars of choice; Afghanistan, Iraq, the war on terror and unfortunately possibly coming soon, Iran. Could a foreign country (where we have no vote) be very interested in pushing the United States into these wars? Who pays these enormous costs (now tens of thousands of dead and wounded plus trillions of wasted dollars). Who benefits? This is what can result from conflicts of interest at the national level.

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